


Maybe We Are Inevitable

by qiaolianmay



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Fluff and Angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-23
Updated: 2017-06-05
Packaged: 2018-07-16 20:34:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,816
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7283707
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/qiaolianmay/pseuds/qiaolianmay
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He had been looking for this book for quite some time now and finally, he found it in a bookstore selling second-hand books. It’s still in a mint condition for a book that was released five years ago, and it didn’t hurt that it’s also a hardbound one.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Red Strings

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! This thing had been bugging me for quite some time now and finally (maybe) i find a decent (or not) way to write it. Hope you like it!
> 
> Disclaimer: Agents of SHIELD is not mine.

_“I didn’t plan to fall in love with you. It felt like everything happened so fast and I could no longer escape from it.” - **The Red String.**_

Phil Coulson held the book tightly on his left hand as if it would disappear if he let it go. He had been looking for this book for quite some time now and finally he found it in a bookstore selling second-hand books. It’s still in a mint condition for a book that was released five years ago, and it didn’t hurt that it’s also a hardbound one.

He went to the counter and was greeted by a smiling face of the cashier.

“Hello Sir.” She said in her cheery posh English accent.

“Hello Jemma.” He greeted back upon reading the name tag of the woman in front of him.

“Oh! The Red String. It’s a heartbreaking yet beautifully written piece. Good choice!” She commented whilst packing the book with manila paper.

Phil smiled at the enthusiasm of the girl. He himself read the book couple of times, he found an electronic file of it about a year ago when he stumbled to an old hard drive. It was given to him about six years ago by a friend and he never had the heart to read the only file that was saved in it, until that fateful day. He forgot what it was and when finally read it, he was hooked and he knew that he had to has a concrete copy of it and not just rely on an electronic file that he might delete unwillingly.

Reading the book brought out some hazy memories. There were familiar lines in it that he thought he heard from somewhere, he just never figured out when or where. When he saw the hard drive, he thought that it was his all along. He hooked it up on his computer and saw the only file entitled “Red String.”

It started with a question on the first page that got him intrigued.

“That would be $2.99, sir.” Jemma said startling his thoughts. “Thank you for visiting Moirai. Have a great day!” She called out after he paid the book and left the bookstore.

Phil thought that since he still had couple of hours to spare before his last errand, he would read the book in the nearby coffee shop.

Serendipity.

He didn’t see someone reaching for the door of the café the same time as he, so he was startled when his hand collided with a soft, warm hand and heard a somewhat familiar voice after he apologized.

“It’s okay.” The woman said. He looked at the woman and saw soft brown eyes looking at her with curiosity. It was so familiar. He knew he had seen her face before but he couldn’t remember when.

“P-Phil?” The woman said hesitantly, as if she too was figuring out him as well. Phil was pushed to the side as one of the customers open the door and they were engulfed by the rich aroma of newly brewed coffee.

Coffee.  Middle of the night conversations. Soft hands…

“M-Melinda? Melinda May?” he asked. And the woman nodded.

“Wow, it’s been years!” He exclaimed unbelievably.

“ Six years to be exact. Uh.. Can I get my hand back, please?” She asked him with the same cute expression she had years ago.

It’s all coming back to him now. She still has the same soft hands he remembered.

And he’s remembering everything about her all at once now.

 He let go and felt his heart dropped at the sight of the shining band on her finger that seemed to mock him all of a sudden.

_“What to do when you find someone so perfect and you had the same wavelength as them but they belonged to someone else?”_


	2. Moirai

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just have to re-upload it. I'm kinda trying to remember this story and i'm sort of outlining it now. little by little i'm finally remembering the actual plot. T_T

_It’s quite a long way travel, if you ask her, and she had no idea how the hell did it happened._

_One hour and thirty minutes flight time from New York to Quebec, and now she’s aimlessly driving this rental car all over the place looking for a space to sleep in._

_She didn’t plan it. She just wanted to escape the world for a little while. She didn’t plan that she’s so lost and her boss was already driving her crazy, asking for the deadlines that she might miss because she no longer have any idea how to write her topic. At all._

_A love story._

_Love’s never her forte, it wasn’t because she had never experienced love, she did, couple of times already but there was something about the love that she experienced seemed to feel so dull. So, bland. Her father used to tell her about how love is like magic. How love is something that connects two people in the none explainable thing possible._

_He told her back in the day, that there were some people still believe that there’s an invisible red thread that connects those who are destined to meet regardless of time, place, or circumstance. The thread may stretch or tangle but it will never break. It was an old gem and the way her father told her that, it was as if he had already met the person at the other end of the thread. His light shone with happiness and love._

_It was something she had never felt with anyone._

_That very moment when you meet **the** person, there seemed to be a very loud snap “right next to your ears and bam! That person was the right one. It was like fairytale, meeting the right person at right circumstances, but unfortunately, she had never found that person and she never believed in fairytales._

_Finally, she stopped by a café._

_KISMET._

_There seemed to be like three or four people inside the place, including the barista. It was quite chilly outside, since December’s fast approaching and the warmth of the place was enticing for her. She was greeted by the rich smell of newly brewed coffee and cinnamon bun upon entering the café._

_“Good evening.” He was greeted by a soft voice. It was rather too excited for someone staying in a café in the middle of the night._

_“Hello, I would like to have a cup of brewed coffee and a slice of your banana bread.” She said._

_“Are you a traveler?” The barista asked. “I mean, if you are and you’re looking for a place to stay, we also have rooms upstairs.” He added._

_“I do. Thank you.” She replied. She was indeed in need of a good sleep after this stress running that she pulled off. She hasn’t even open her phone yet. There must be tons of messages from her boss. Tonight, she wouldn’t care. Tonight’s for her. Only her._

_“My boss will be here in a sec.” the barista said. “I’ll just take your coffee and bread to you.”_

_She walked to a sit near the window and stared outside. She observed the people outside, hoping that she’d get inspiration and figure out, how in the world she’d be able to find the words she needed to write the unwritten story of a love that transcend beyond realms._

_It’s stupid._

_“Brewed coffee and a slice of banana bread.” A voice said, disturbing her thoughts. “Interesting choice, I must say… but I must say, it’s not every day that we encounter something peculiar. I heard you’re looking for a room?”_

_She looked up and found the bluest of eyes, she had the pleasure to look at. It was soft and friendly. Something she forgot that still exist in this time of hatred and jealousy._

_She smiled and raised an eyebrow._

_“You must be the owner.”_

_“And you must be the traveler?” He retorted. “What brought you here?”_

_“I’m looking for a place to stay,” She answered._

_“Curious. Curious.”_

_She tilted her head as a smile blossom out on her face._

_“Are you quoting Alice?”_

_“Indeed I am.” He replied as he sat in front of her._

* * *

“They say that in New York City, you're never more than 20ft away from someone you know or someone you're meant to know." He commented after they seated on a table near the windows. Phil noticed that upon seating, Melinda took the opportunity to look outside, something that he quite remember vividly. She used to do that a lot every time they would meet in a café. She would observe the people outside and she would tell her theories about them to him. There was something about it that made him feel like, home.

"5 to 7?" She asked in which he answered with a nod.

"I never really thought it was true. Until today." He shrugged feeling the heat rising on his face. He shouldn’t have said that.

 "Am I someone you know or someone you're meant to know?" she asked drinking preferred drink. He couldn’t help but smile at the question.

"Honestly?"

"Honestly."

"I know you.  we've known each other for quite some time but six years had been a long time and I didn’t even know that you're here."

"Like I said, the last time we saw each other where when I was in City of Angels—and you didn't answer my question." She replied, reminding him her question and the conversation earlier by the counter.

Los Angeles was the place they met, that was something he was sure of. It was also the place they eventually part. She had to leave and pursue a life away from the city and he had to stay.

"You're someone I know and someone I meant to know."

"Fair enough." she murmured

And silence engulfed two. It was a comfortable one, something he remember about her. It was the little things like silence that

"Since when you stopped drinking coffee? I remember you loved brewed coffee a lot." he asked forehead knitting in confusion.

"About six years now." she replied, her demeanour changed visibly and Phil noticed the tension on her body. Something he quite didn’t understand. He just shrugged it off thinking that it might’ve happened in her past that.

“What are you doing here?” he asked curiously. He looked at her intensely and noticed that the discomfort was gone. It was as if he was just making things up when he saw her grew rigid after his question.

Maybe he was just imagining things.

“Having tea.” She replied with a ghost of a smile.

He chuckled. She’s still the same.

It’s always a good thing to reconnect with old friends.

“You’re married.” He couldn’t help but ask because every time she took a sip of her tea, his eyes would drift to the shining band on her heart. There was a feeling of heaviness looming inside of him that he couldn’t understand. It was something akin to longing and pain and regret.

It was intense.

“You could say that.”


End file.
